Soul pays tribute to late Disney and Pixar animator Joe Ranft, a 20-year animation veteran whose credits include Toy Story and Cars. When middle school band teacher and jazz musician Joe (Jamie Foxx) suffers an accident, his soul separates from his body and ends up in the Great Beyond. To buy time and reunite his soul with his body back on Earth, Joe poses as a soul counselor in the Great Before and becomes the unwitting mentor of 22 (Tina Fey). As an eons-old soul who has never found her "spark" — despite the teachings of notable figures like Abraham Lincoln, Mohammed Ali, and Mother Teresa — 22 proudly shows Joe a wall collecting the nametags of her many mentors.